Urban Home Tour - Kress Building Lofts

At last, the return of our Urban Home Tour series! I’ve got some cool stuff in store for this series. Today’s entry takes us downtown to the Kress Building Lofts.

Built in 1936 as the home of (you guessed it) the Kress five & dime store, the Kress Building has served a variety of uses over the course of its life. This Art Deco building has most recently been home to the Fox & Hound pub, which occupies the building’s ground floor retail space. For many years, the upper floors have been vacant - but the building’s most recent previous owner has redeveloped those upper floors into loft apartments.

Unfortunately, things just didn’t work out for said owner, and the building had to be sold. Now, though, a new owner has stepped in, and has begun leasing the apartments once again.

The Kress Building Lofts range in size from 803 to 1,144 square feet. There are eight different floor plans on each floor of the building, for a total of 24 units. Units on the building’s east end have east and south views, and units at the building’s west end have west views. All other units in between have south views via new windows carved into the building during redevelopment (the building originally had no other windows besides those on its east and west elevations).

Units generally have similar layouts, with an elevated loft bedroom, bathroom, closet, and utility room, and a lower kitchen and living/dining area, all open without walls. A few units do not have the raised bedroom, and feature a separate bedroom. Units on the west end are fully open with no discrete bedroom space walled off.

Units feature exposed ceilings, exposed metal columns, exposed ducts and pipes, polished & stained concrete floors, and track lighting in the living/dining areas, bedrooms, and bathrooms.

Kitchens feature light-colored wood cabinets, green granite counters, pantries, and stainless steel appliances. All are open to the living & dining area and feature large granite bars.

Each unit features a utility room with a stackable washer & dryer. Some units use more traditional doors for closets and such, and some use pocket doors.

Views from most units (which face south) include a close-up of the red brick Ashton Hotel and views of towers such as Carter + Burgess Plaza, 714 Main, the W. T. Waggoner Building, The Fair Building, and the Fort Worth Club.

Rents are approximately in the range of $1,200 - $1,800 per month ($1.50 per square foot per month). One parking space is included with each unit (parking is in the garage alongside 714 Main one block to the south), and a second space is an additional $100/month. There is one elevator and one freight elevator in the building. Access is controlled through passcode boxes in the doors and elevators, and each unit has its own security system as well. Units also come with membership to the nearby Larry North fitness center. The building’s new owner is considering adding a rooftop deck.

To take a look at floor plans, visit the building’s web site - thekressbuilding.com, but don’t use the contact information currently listed on the site as of this writing. The web site does not currently have the correct contact information due to the ownership change. To inquire about leasing and to take a tour of available units, instead contact Chris Faulkner via e-mail or by phone at 817-975-3300.